Through this site and our blog, we are exploring all that we can learn about life by changing up where and how we live, create community, and experience our world.

The Latest

We’re teaming up with local meat purveyors Firsthand Foods to bring you a new recipe each month for delicious, sustainably-raised local meats. The first recipe is for a beautiful cut of beef called a Manhattan Roast. This is dinner party material y’all!

We’re a little over two weeks into the New Year and while you work hard on your resolutions (or have already given up, no judgement here), I think you should take a quick moment to look at one of the most important rooms in your house - your kitchen. Now I’m not going to ask you to go all Marie Kondo on your cabinets and drawers; instead I’m going to give you four easy things you can do to give your kitchen a quick refresh for the new year.

Soul cities are more than just your favorite destination, they are an inescapable part of who you are. These are places that you don’t just visit, you inhabit. They have a vibe that speaks to you on an almost instinctual level; as if you’re at home before you even arrive. Read more to find out Matt’s four soul cities.

We are, at our core, nomadic; exploring the world and documenting it all as we go.

We invite you to read, engage, and grow along with us as this project evolves to include your story. Who knows what being a part of School of Home will teach us, especially if you come along for the ride?

We're Harper and MattFounders of School of Home

We’re both writers and observers of the world, but we come from totally different backgrounds.

Harper’s spent a great deal of his life adventuring around the globe (from Buenos Aires to St. Petersburg) and teaching high school English in Lake Placid, New York. He loves exploring--cultures, places, food, people, languages and ideas.

Matt embraced the culinary world in his career, doing everything from being a pastry assistant to managing a catering company, all while driving his passion: telling the stories behind food and drink for publications such as The News & Observer, Durham Magazine, and Wine Enthusiast.

We met in Durham, North Carolina in 2015, fell in love, and decided to create a new adventure together, along with the other men in our lives: Samson, the yellow lab, and Seamus, the cat. Recently we added some female influence, rescuing a cute calico named Sybil.

We have launched “School of Home” as a creative mission to seek wisdom and meaning in our lives.

This is our project to use the ways we live as dynamic opportunities to connect, grow, and contribute to the world and the diverse cultural experiences it has to offer.

We want you to know that as we share our stories here, we are hoping to share yours too.

We’re all students, no matter where we are in life. And in the people we meet, the places we visit, and the experiences we have, we hope we will inspire you to join us in finding more wisdom, joy, and intentionality by learning through living and living through learning.

SHARE YOUR STORIES OF "HOME" WITH US

School of Home is a new lifestyle project and blog focused on "learning through living" and creatively exploring the notion of "home." Led by writers Harper Hornaday and Matthew Lardie, our current subjects of our study include converting a school bus into a "skoolie" tiny home, exploring life as wine importers, cooking and traveling through different cultures and communities, and more.